Sloping grade

[PJSprog]

Ask questions.

Responces to specific questions, rather than broad topics, will be most valuable to you.

Only a few here grew up on farms with tractors. Most of us, like you, started at "0".

That seems mostly correct. I'll also add the idea of reading everything here that is of even remote interest to you. You'll be surprised by how much you will learn from reading knowledgeable posts about things you thought you only had a marginal interest in. Ultimately, if it's tractor related, you are going to learn from it, and probably end up applying that knowledge in other areas and situations. I have benefited greatly from the incredible knowledge here, and I was no stranger to tractors before I bought my first one. There is a wealth of experience here. Take it all in.

 

[Michael Aos]

I don't have a good picture. Here's one from Google Earth that's a couple years old.

Both sites have significantly "deferred" maintenance.

Backyard 1 is ~125' deep x 63' wide. #2 is 125' deep x 60' wide. So 125' x 123' conbined. The front yards are similar -- originally sod, but long dead. Probably 40' of juniper / boxwood shrubs that need to go.

Most of the trees are gone or are going. We lost 3 in that big wind storm, and all of the fencing. There will be 1x large tree in front, and 1x large tree in back when I'm done.

One shed is already gone. The other to go. I'll probably keep the other two, but might try and have one moved.

I'm going to eliminate the privacy fence between the two and extend the driveway from the front, through the space where the fence used to be.

Privacy fence with gates along the back. Chain-link on one or both sides of the "compound".

Then bisect the backyard with a 123' chain-link. Thinking a detatched garage (or 2) or maybe some shipping containers if possible.

At some point, someone created a raised bed of sod, surrounded by landscape timbers. All long dead now. I've started pulling out the timbers.

The back 1/2 and around the sod was completely covered in river-rock. Maybe 2"? There's so much dead vegetation on top of it now you'd never even know the rock was there.

Negative-grade issue is near the house on the right (middle). They may have pulled dirt from next to the foundation to build a couple of raised flower gardens. Result is water intrusion into the crawl space.

My (uninformed) thinking was grade everything front-to-back with some material that was conducive to run-off (like dirt?), and then cover everything with a layer of gravel / crushed rock / something more decorative Xeriscape material.

Scope is the 2x co-joined backyards, then 3 front yards.

My original question was around what type of attachments -- if any -- would make this job easier / more fun. The Ratchet Rake is definitely an option. Or a 4-in-1 bucket. Or a rock / grading bucket, or a box blade, or perhaps some other thing I didn't even know existed.

No real timeline at all. My thinking is to have them deliver a big old pile of something and then spend the odd hour after work and frequent nice weekend spreading it around.

Probably doing the bulk of the landscaping BEFORE tackling the fencing.
--

 

[bcp]

For 12,000 square feet that is dead level to start with you would need about 112 yards of dirt to build up a slope of .5%.

112 yards and 1/5th yard BX bucket capacity equals lots of trips.

Bruce

 

[Michael Aos]

I would not recommend buying a tractor for such a small project.

Keep your 2370 and use it to xeriscape after the grade work is done. You will have less need for a tractor afterwards.

So my ORIGINAL plan was for a small / sub-compact tractor like the BX1870-1 with a post-hole digger simply to tackle all the fencing. Was thinking small, small, small. Thinking I'd just sell the package after I'm done with it.

Didn't take much convincing for the dealer to upgrade me to the BX2370-1. I didn't even look at the B-series, and didn't know the difference between the B2601 & B2650. Anything bigger than the BX struck me as huge for these tiny spaces.

First task was to remove some fallen trees and concrete "stumps" where the fence had sheared off at ground level. Was not impressed with the weight of the BX2370-1 (and learned the importance of weight) and FEL lifting capacity.

Started looking into adding weight to the BX2370-1 and decided to check out the B2601. Seems like the B2601 has a lot of nice features for not a lot more $$$.

I'm kinda tempted (want) to trade-up to the B2601, but at this point I come out much further ahead just doing everything with the BX2370-1 if I can.

I'm still thinking when all the projects are done I won't really need a tractor anymore. That said, it might be nice to keep the BX around in case the projects never end.

It has been a lot of fun playing in the dirt so far.
--

 

[Michael Aos]

I'm probably OK with that.

What I want to avoid is a "I could have had a V8!" moment where I've spent a month on it and find out I could have done it in a week with the correct attachment.

112 yards and 1/5th yard BX bucket capacity equals lots of trips.

 

[jenkinsph]

If the lots are cleared out I could still do that dirt work and grading in one day. The dirt only has to move a short distance to spread it. I would think that it could be roughed in dirt placed where needed in 3 hours or less. Then about 4 hours of grading with a box blade and laser set up and it would be done.

You may consider getting a couple of bids from skid steer guys in your area, they should be able to knock this out for $1000. or close to it. The more tedious xeriscaping you could take your time with and do this with the BX. The larger issue is the material and your proximity to it. About a year ago I worked for a friend in Durango building up some rv pads and running a sewer line. After doing some checking we bought tailings from a crusher plant about 10 miles away and had 75 yards delivered for $440.00 most of this was trucking fees. The xeriscape colored rock varieties will run closer to $75 per ton and that can add up quickly.

 

[Egon]

Check out use of a three point post hole auger with the B X. There may be a clearance problem???

 

[Michael Aos]

A photo would help a lot.

 

[Michael Aos]

Would something like a 4-in-1 bucket or land plane be the way to go?

 

[jenkinsph]

Would something like a 4-in-1 bucket or land plane be the way to go?

A landplane the size of the one in the pictures below would work well with your BX for smoothing. To run a uniform grade from the house across the yard would require a box blade or other similar implement that can carry the dirt and deposit it where needed. I would start by shooting grade to see what is really needed, you may find that there is enough slope as is to work fine. If that is the case you may only need a small amount of dirt around the house and a few low spots. Afterwards a lpgs may do the trick.